30 | BIGISSUE.COM 30 APRIL-06 MAY 2020
after the virus - housing.
‘WHEN WE
GET THROUGH
THIS, BRITAIN
NEEDS A BIG,
POSITIVE
AND RADICAL
REBOOT’
eorgeClarkeisanarchitect,TVhostanda
long-termadvocateofproperreforminBritain’s
housingsector.WritingexclusivelyforTheBigIssue,
hesaysnowmorethaneverweneedtomake sure
we are focused on building for the futureIstilldon’tthinkI'vegotmyheadaroundtherealityofwhat
ishappeningacrossthegloberightnow.Even after weeksof
lockdownitjustdidn’tseemreal.Well,itdidn’tseemrealuntil
mystepdadcontractedCovid-19,that'swhentherealityof it
hithard. Thankfully,hecamethroughitand isrecoveringin
hospital.Unfortunately, Iknowpeoplewhohaven’t.
Obviously, thepriorityfor everyoneand everybusiness
atthemomentissurvivaland none of usknowshow we, asa
globalsociety,willchange off theback of this,butchange we
must. Goingback to ‘normal’(whateverthatis)shouldn't bean
optionfollowingan eventthathasbroughttheentireplanet to
itsknees.
Let'sface it, we'vehad aterrible13years.The2007/0 8 global
financialcrisiswastheworsteconomicdisastersincethestock
marketcrashof 1929.We thenhad over 10yearsof extreme
governmentcutsand austerity,whichbatteredpublicservices,
and ifthatwasn't enoughwe thenhad theturbulenceand
unknownworldof Brexitwhich,whateveryour views,caused
massive division and instabilityacrossthecountry.We now
face aterribleglobalpandemicthatwe are goingtohave to
somehowlive withuntilavaccineisavailable. Thatcouldtake
atleast1 8 months.
Ofcourse, itisrightto putpeople’slivesbeforetheeconomy,
butwe musthavesome form of economyto pay for allthe
essentialserviceswe need,suchasour amazingNHS, and to
avoidacomplete breakdownofsociety.We willeventuallyget
throughthis,butatwhatcost?Thegovernmentispumping
inmanybillionsof poundsto preventthecountryfrom total
collapse, butthismeansthere are goingto bedecadesof pain
for usalland furtherpainfor thosewhowere alreadystruggling
and vulnerable.
I’m desperatelyworriedaboutwhateffectallof thisis
havingonhousingand thehome-buildingindustry. Iwas
worriedaboutitbeforecoronavirus,soimaginehow bad
thingscouldgetnow. Everythingisonhold.Allof thecritical
issuesaroundhousingaren’tbeingtalked aboutor dealt
withbecausecoronavirusisall-consuming.To give justone
example, my councilandsocialhousingcampaignthatwas
launchedlastyear, on the100thanniversary of theAddison
Act,haslostallmomentumand everythingwe plannedfor
2020 hasbeenpushedinto nextyear. Reallyimportantclimate
change and zero-carboneventslinkedto buildingbetterand
moresustainablehomestohelpsave theplanet and endfuel
povertyfor vulnerablehouseholdshave beenpostponed.So,
urgentand vitallyimportantissuesare beinglostinthenoise
of thepandemicand are beingdelayed becauseoflockdown.
Completelyunderstandableunderthecircumstances,butit's
stillan enormousproblemforsociety.
Butmy biggestworryisthatwhenwe getthisawfulvirus
undercontroland we allreturnto our day-to-daylivesthatthe
economywillbeinsuchadisastrousstate, withthecountry
burdenedwithsomuchdebt, thatwe willendupgoing
backwardsratherthan forwardsacrosstheentirehousing
sector.Willthestatehave thefundsto buildthetrulyaffordable
homesfor rent thecountrydesperatelyneeds?Willtheprivate
householderspushevenharderto notbuildtheiraffordable
housingrequirements?Willbuildingstandardsand theoverall
qualityof newhomesbeingbuiltdrop even furtherintherush
to build faster and cheaper? And will the climate emergency